Hidden in the Alley
by Completely Different
Summary: All she can do is run. She can't even fly. A one-shot for Cordria's June contest.


She was running down the alley, her breath heavy in her chest. Tash didn't know if she was being followed, and she didn't even know if they could do something to her if she was caught. Last time she'd checked, convenience store owners didn't carry ecto-weapons; but then, they hadn't carried ghost detectors before, either.

As she ducked to the right, Tash risked a quick glance behind. Yes, someone was following her- but they were too far behind to catch up. Now a wall hid her from view; she closed her eyes, and phased into the ground.

She was met with the stench of sewer water and the distant squeaking of rats. It hardly bothered her anymore. In fact, she felt almost safe here. The blackness was all encompassing. Here, at least, she couldn't be found. Tash did feel a pang at dirtying of her clothes. It was her only good outfit left, used for masquerading as a normal teenager, and who knew when she'd next get to clean the filth out?

Of course, Tash had bigger problems now. How would the others react when she told them?

She realised the plastic bag was cutting into her hands, and she shifted it into a more comfortable position- one which was well-away from the filth squelching under her aged sneakers. Tash focused, and her eyes started to glow an eerie blue which lit her way. With one last nervous glance at the ceiling she started to run, her belly gnawing with worry.

She twisted and turned in the under-ground labyrinth. She knew the tunnels fairly well; they'd been in this place for a couple of weeks, now. Eventually she found herself in familiar territory; a ladder underneath a man-hole marked by a yellow sign. Tash hooked the bag through her arm, and grabbed the ladder's grimy metal, beginning to climb. Not for the first time, she wished she was powerful enough to fly.

Another alley. The man-hole shifted and she carefully pulled herself out. Not far now.

There they were, hidden in their make-shift shelter composed of forgotten trash-cans, card-board boxes and a tarp. A young voice shouted, "Tash!"

It was Carly, the youngest of them. The little girl jumped up and squeezed the Tash tight. A boy carefully pulled them in. He wore a concealing hoodie and gloves, but they didn't completely hide the pale glow which always hung over his skin. He grabbed the bag from her arms, quickly digging into it. "Where are the ecto-canisters?"

"I- I couldn't get them, Jamie."

"Why not?"

That was the last member of the group. She had been hiding at the back, crouched over something small. Now she was staring solemnly at Tash with her intense violet eyes. With her bleach-white hair and grave expression Lilith could be creepy, even to someone as close as herself.

Tash gargled out the story. How it had been going so well; almost everything was packed in the bags, and the cashier seemed to like her. Then the ecto-canisters had been checked in; she'd had a good excuse, Tash had thought. A camping trip. But the cashier had brought out a strange device. It had resembled a laser for checking in items, but the green light it had glowed with had made her skin crawl.

"Oh, don't worry," the man had said, sensing her fear. "It's just to check to make sure you're not possessed or anything. The state's just made them regulation. They're afraid of renegade halfas getting their hands on ecto-weapons or something."

He had laughed, clearly thinking it was ridiculous. Tash had forced herself to laugh, too, while her fingers had slowly laced around the already filled bag. He had prepared to scan, and she had bolted, running blindly out of the store.

Her three friends, her family, stared at her mutely. Even little Carly, usually so exuberant, fell silent.

"We'll have to go. Now. The GiW could be here any minute."

Lilith sounded as confident as usual, but Tash noticed she seemed sad. Lilith had liked it here; it was so close to Amity Park, her childhood home. Not that that meant anything to Tash. Far as she was concerned, Amity Park could rot in hell. It was that place which started this whole mess. It had been a risk just coming this close to ghost hunter central.

But it was different for Lilith. She was older, she was more powerful, she was Danny Phantom's daughter. She could afford to take risks.

"It's not fair," Jamie sniffed.

Tash thought it over. No, it wasn't. Why was it fair that Carly's mother had lived in an area contaminated with ecto-plasm when she was pregnant? Why was it fair that Jamie had been close to that ecto-explosion?

Why should their own government hunt them? Why, why, why, why, why?

There wasn't an answer, not really. But secretly Tash blamed the Fenton's. It was their research which had caused the rise in ecto-plasm's usage. It was their portal which caused the ghosts to become a threat. It was their son who'd blown the cover of hundreds of lesser, low-class halfas hiding in secret across the country.

She didn't say that, of course. Lilith would smack her, and then Carly might cry. Besides, what use would it do?

They packed up hastily, rolling up their tarps and few possessions. Thankfully, Tash had scavenged _some_ food from the disastrous convenience store trip. They still had some money left over. Jamie hoisted Carly onto his back, and Lilith inspected the place they'd called home one last time. Tash didn't look back.

And then, they started to run again.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO 

**This is my entry for Cori's June contest, where we had to write something beginning with 'She was running down the alley...' These characters are actually ones I've had for a while, and I've thought a lot about their back-story and the politics of the world they live in, which takes place about twenty years from the show's time. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to do with them, but 100 words are better than nothing, right? **

**And, yes, still working on The Scrapbook. Just got a little case of writer's block, is all. **


End file.
